The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) launched a public consultation on draft revisions to its Capital Adequacy Requirements (CAR) Guideline, alongside proposed revisions to capital and liquidity requirements for small and medium-sized deposit-taking institutions. OSFI also issued final guidelines on the capital and liquidity treatment of crypto-asset exposures for banks and insurers and final Pillar 3 disclosure guidelines on crypto-asset exposures, and published a letter outlining upcoming updates to Guideline B-15 on Climate Risk Management. The draft CAR revisions are based on the October 2023 version of the guideline and focus on clarifying existing capital rules and supporting more consistent application. Proposed changes include updates to the definition of income-producing residential real estate exposures, clarification of the treatment of certain US government-sponsored entities, adjustments to the market risk Standardized Approach to align more closely with the Basel Framework, and clarification of the credit valuation adjustment framework. OSFI also confirmed it will defer increases to the Basel III standardized capital floor level (output floor) until further notice, keeping it at 67.5%, and committed to providing affected banks at least two years’ notice before resuming increases. The final crypto-asset guidelines, incorporating Basel Committee standards on disclosures, apply to domestic systemically important banks as well as small and medium deposit-taking institutions and take effect in Q1 2026, replacing OSFI’s interim advisory from August 2022. OSFI expects to publish the updated Guideline B-15 in late March to align climate-related disclosure expectations with the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board’s final standards, with a further consultation later in the year on disclosing greenhouse gas emissions from off-balance sheet assets under management; it also paused a planned consultation on regulatory compliance management while it focuses on supervisory work and will determine next steps in the coming months.
Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions 2025-02-20
Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions consults on capital adequacy revisions, keeps the Basel III output floor at 67.5%, and finalises crypto-asset treatment and disclosure guidelines
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) began a public consultation on draft revisions to its Capital Adequacy Requirements Guideline, proposing changes for small and medium-sized deposit-taking institutions. OSFI issued final guidelines on crypto-asset exposures, effective Q1 2026, and updated Guideline B-15 on Climate Risk Management. The revisions aim to clarify capital rules, aligning with the Basel Framework, while deferring increases to the Basel III standardized capital floor level.